Our approach to research, practice and knowledge exchange

Our research is exciting and demanding, and our students are driving the changes that will transform tomorrow’s society.

Richard Comley, Director of Research, Middlesex University

Strategy in action

Using technology to build a safer society

A pioneering study led by a team in our Faculty of Science and Technology will transform how terrorism, cybercrime, human trafficking, and drug smuggling are tackled using big data.

Headed by Professor of Human-Computer Interaction William Wong, a European Commission-funded project is developing a new tool to give police early warnings of criminal activity.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity involved in intelligence analysis,” explains Professor Wong. “This tool sorts the significant from the insignificant through a combination of semantic and associative searching.”

The innovative visual analytics for sense-making in criminal intelligence analysis tool, or VALCRI as it’s known, can process large quantities of information from multiple sources including surveillance videos, GIS data, command-and-control and social media. This information can be shared across multiple jurisdictions and international borders.

By presenting the data in a user-friendly way, VALCRI will help police and security forces to make meaningful connections and identify suspicious behaviour more easily.

“It's about using big data and analytics in a smarter way," says Professor Wong.

VALCRI will also minimise miscarriages of justice by reducing human bias and errors in judgement.

“Its visual design strategy encourages questioning, insight and imagination,” says the professor. "And it enables law enforcement agencies to make their processes more transparent."

Our research team is working in collaboration with the Belgian Federal Police and West Midlands Police Force as well as 72 scientists, engineers and law enforcement professionals from eight countries.

Proudly a living wage campus

How we have taken learnings from our own research into the benefits of paying the living wage and put them into practice

Fairness is one of our fundamental values at Middlesex. This is why we are proud to be a living wage employer, accredited by the Living Wage Foundation. Now all our workers, from permanent employees to third-party contractors, receive the recommended minimum hourly London living wage of £9.75.

The accreditation comes on the back of research conducted by Dr Andrea Werner from our Business School, alongside Dr Ming Lim from the University of Liverpool.

The Putting the Living Wage to Work study was the first UK-wide research to examine the motivation behind small-to-medium sized enterprises paying the voluntary living wage.

Our research found clear benefits for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), including fewer employee disputes, increase in productivity and motivation, and a reputational advantage over competitors.

Meanwhile a recent student survey by the Living Wage Foundation along with the National Union of Students revealed that 79% of students would take a dim view of an employer if they paid anything less than the real living wage.

By being at the forefront of research and putting the findings into practice ourselves, we are demonstrating our commitment to being a responsible employer and helping to ensure our students face a future of fair employment practices.

The fight for human rights

Our European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) brings about positive changes in laws, policies and practices in Russia, the South Caucasus and Ukraine. In any given time, the Centre is actively dealing with over 300 cases and works to draw international attention to pressing human rights issues. Our students are not only able to join internship programmes but also have an invaluable role to play in shaping fairer societies.